In the conventional cheese making process for making cheddar and Colby cheese, cheese curd is removed from the cheese making vat and placed in an open topped box or container, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,719,994. After the box is filled, the curd is pressed and subjected to a vacuum treatment to remove a substantial portion of the whey from the curd.
With the use of the apparatus shown in the above mentioned Pat. No. 3,719,994, a perforated lid is attached to the upper end of the box and the box is placed in a supporting frame. The frame is mounted within a cradle that is suspended from an overhead rail, and the cradle includes an outer cradle member, which is mounted for movement on the rail, and an inner cradle member which is pivotally connected to the outer cradle member and can be tilted to a downwardly inclined position to permit residual whey to drain from the cheese curd through the perforated lid. When in the downwardly inclined position, the box can be rotated about its longitudinal axis to aid in draining of the whey from all areas of the mass of cheese curd.
In the past the box which contains the cheese curd has been formed with an open bottom and is supported within the frame on a plate mounted on the base of the frame. The support plate is usually formed with dimpled perforations through which the whey is drained, and even though the dimples bear on the base of the supporting frame, deformation has occurred in the support plate during the vacuum draining operation.